World Of Strays
by Enderkiller77
Summary: Blake Belladonna has been traded, used, and abused all through out her life as a slave. She expects that her pitiful life will go on in the same routine till she dies. Well, that is, until she's taken in by a new owner; a huntress by the name of Yang Xiao Long.
1. Trigger Warning

******WARNING******

**This story will contain possible triggering events related to slavery, racism, war, rape, abuse, and physiologic breakdowns. I do not wish to trigger anyone with this story and if you are triggered by these things, please exit out of this story now. This story is intended for mature audiences and should not be read if you are not ready for this kind of material. Please acknowledge this warning for I honestly do not want to have anyone being hurt or reminded of past events that have negatively effected them. If you are ready for this kind of reading, continue to the next chapter.**

******WARNING******


	2. Chapter 1

There were so many complicated and utterly trivial reasons the Faunus and Human war ended, though it mostly came down to the very fact that the humans didn't want to waste so much money and time on a race they had predetermined inferior to them in every-way. Of course, the humans only said this ignorant lie to themselves because in reality, they weren't doing so well in the war. Too many lives lost, so little money left and the devastating ways the Faunus had used to take out so many of the human armies did have an effect, so the humans attempted a truce.

The idea was shot down by thousands of Faunus and humans alike instantly, the hate was ironically the only thing both races could agree on, but after around a year of weaving though angry mobs and horrifying cries and screams, the humans did get their truce.

It was shaky at best, crowds of hatred still formed and slaughtered anyone from another race besides their own. Eventually, both sides agreed to stay in designated parts of the world; as far away from each other as possible of course.

Faunus took the countries of Vytal and Atlas; while humans took over Mystral and Vauco.

That didn't mean all was solved that simply, as nothing in life is reached easily, there was still the small detail of war prisoners that both sides dealt with. The Faunus had killed any human who had been captured, so all that was left was to reclaim the thousand of war prisoners the humans had took.

The Faunus were only allowed to take around a few hundred or so, and the rest of the Faunus war prisoners would be taken as slaves. It was mere compensation for the dead human prisoners.

Despite the growing riots and the loud yells of the Faunus to return their fellow kin to the light of freedom, it was decided that the humans could use the remaining Faunus for slaves. After all, the Faunus leaders didn't want another war on their hands. More bloodshed would not get them anywhere, besides, once their forces regained strength they would be able to reclaim their enslaved kin and destroy the humans. At least, that's what they reasoned for themselves in order to stop the soul crushing guilt of dooming so many to slavery.

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* * *

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It had been five years from the first time Blake had seen shackles and the cold glares of pure hatred from the human handlers responsible for enslaving her. The war had ended around a mere three and a half years ago and Blake knew that she would never be able to be free.

The cat eared Faunus never liked dwelling on her races failed promises, seeing no point in remembering something so hopeful. She did keep little somethings to hold on to from the times when she wasn't reduced to a mere house cat who had to follow her masters whims. She still kept her intense love of literature and still had the occasional habit of daydreaming about long paragraphs and scenes that she had always wanted to include in her old books she read. She would still deadpan with sarcasm and give a little smirk when she found humor or joy in anything. That was about it though. The rest had been pushed out of her by beatings and harsh words or were simply forgotten.

A clean piece of paper and a spare pen are all Blake really wants, and even though slaves are rarely given anything even remotely considered fine-quality; Blake is quite obedient and is sometimes given small safe havens in writing.

She does try to ask for any reading magazines or books but it is immediately turned down. To much creativity and a Faunus may snap or get the 'clever' idea to escape. Despite the fact the humans are so sure of themselves, their still cowards and only make rules to protect themselves and push away their fears.

Blake swears that she would go insane having to deal with such an ignorant, violent race if she was alone.

There are other slaves to, most of who can't speak anymore out of pure fear or only do so in whispers so light you don't even know their talking most of the time. The ones who anybody can actually hear usually speak in either gibberish or broken fragments of sentences, barely able to make any conversation. It only goes to show how good the humans are at their job.

There are a few who haven't snapped and Blake had only kept two friends close by in the time she was at the slave hold. Blake didn't want to get to attached to a lot of people at once, she knew heart might not be able to take it.

A girl with brown straight hair and one cut rabbit ear was Blake's first friend. Velvet had a light soothing voice that was somehow able to with stand all the cruel fights and ruff scratchy calls of insults. Blake had never been able to decipher where Velvet's accent came from but frankly, she had never cared in the first place. The rabbit Faunus had always calmed Blake down when she had thought the other was going to break, and Blake did the same for her. Velvet was a shy girl, obedient to all orders and was not punished often since there was usually no reason to, unless a human felt like they wanted to destroy another being that wasn't their self or when the timid girl selflessly took a beating for someone else.

For some reason, Velvet had always insisted on getting rid of all the knots in Blake's hair and animal ears, saying how it's nessacary for her because it had something to do with aura flow and how it always made her feel better so she should try it. Blake never understood her logic but had figured that the process was more for Velvet then her, it gave the rabbit Faunus a thing to do with her hands that didn't involve scrubbing floors or doing dishes. In return, Blake did Velvets hair and ears, and both Faunus found the process quite satisfying even though the smoothness and the absence of tangles never lasts for more then a few hours.

Blake's other friend was a rambunctious monkey Faunus who was much to optimistic for his own good. Sun was always disobeying the human handlers and being one of the only sources of hope and happiness that some other slaves caught on to, it wasn't the best idea. It always gave you the worst kind of attention from the humans. He tried to be friends with everyone he could, though he soon learned that most Faunus he talked to couldn't be saved. To far gone to even be touched sometimes. He was more suited to physical labors but knew enough to do anything a slave needed to know to get by.

He had always let Velvet do her traditional hair brushing, and while he complained that it was a lame thing for dumb girls, Blake and Velvet knew he secretly enjoyed it. Plus the horrible excuses he made to halfheartedly get away were funny. Sun was always closer to Velvet then anyone else and Blake often mused that the both of them would have made a great couple if it weren't for the whole slave industry they were trapped in.

It was to bad that slaves like Sun never lasted very long. Always sold as quickly as possible or killed in a fight with a human handler. Something a long those lines.

Blake didn't like to think about them.

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* * *

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The light pitter patter noise of rain is the only thing keeping Blake awake. The car has been noiselessly driving along the road for a numerous amount of hours at night without pause but Blake knows not to fall asleep on these long car trips, if you do you never know what might happen next. Always keeping her guard up has become an instinct now.

To entertain herself Blake smooths out the creases of her slave attire, dark grey long pants and an even darker shirt. Once completed with that task, Blake returns to another state of thought and stares up the black ceiling of the car. The time she gets to herself are rare and she doesn't want to waste these valuable moments. Blake is in no rush to get to her new owner, though she knows that her thoughts aren't worth a grain of sand to anyone.

Blake is already preparing for the things that she will eventually have to do for the new owner, already thinking of the mystery person as that, her owner. In the end no matter what she does, the owner is always the master and she is always the slave. No bargaining or changing that fact. Of course, acceptance and approval are two very different things and while Blake does accept, she does not approve. No one can truly own her.

The human handler stops the car suddenly, almost launching Blake out of her seat since the car has absolutely not seat belts or handles for her to grab on to. The handler opens the door and pulls her into the open rather roughly but Blake expects this by now, and is used to pain of this level.

Once on her feet, Blake takes quick glances at the house that she supposes will be her 'home' for the rest of her pitiful life. It's not the not biggest place she's seen but that doesn't mean it's small either. Blake doesn't know what material it's made of but she's honestly impressed with the battle scars the house shows, with multiple scratches and plates of metal over some places.

Blake realizes that it is possible that her new owner had caused these markings on the home and any sense of awe is replaced by a fear and the stench of dread. It's not a feeling she's unfamiliar with. Looking over at the handler again, she smirks slightly as the clumsy human momentarily trips on rock he did not see. Sometimes being a Faunus with night vision is quite rewarding.

She is taken to her new owner, a blonde huntress by the name of Yang Xiao Long, and she observes her owner converse with the handler about some problem with the forms or something like that. Blake tuns it out with the talent of years of practice, and instead, favors to look outside by use of the window. The night time rain looks much prettier when your not in it.

Eventually the money is exchanged and the handler leaves, but not before "patting" Blake's back hard, almost enough to make her stumble forward. It serves as a reminder of her place, as if she needed one. Blake turns her head to look at Yang. She gives Blake a quick examination by walking around her and taking in her new slave's appearance before shrugging and asking Blake to follow her.

Blake obeys immediately and Yang leads her downstairs, saying something about how Blake should rest up, though the Faunus in question isn't listening to hard. The words come out as a loud hum and Blake finds it rather odd to go to sleep at night, as she's always been the nocturnal type.

The room that Blake will stay in is rather basic, a simple bed in the right hand corner, a sight that surprises her greatly since she has grown used to sleeping on floors; then again, the frame holding it up looks like it's about to crack at any second. There's a blanket, which is an obnoxiously bright shade of yellow and Blake fears her eyes may burn at the very sight of it.

Other then the bed, everything else is rather normal. There's a small wardrobe, though Blake knows she'll never be able to fill the whole thing. She only has the clothes she wearing, an extra pair of that for spare, and white pajamas consisting of another T-shirt and shorts. To the other side, there's a sink with no soap or mirror near it. There's also a tap in the far left corner of the room which it to be used as her shower. Right next to it is a toilet.

It's actually much more comfortable here then the slave holder, and Blake finally has some amount of privacy here. First order of business is to put her clothes in the wardrobe, which Blake does with practiced ease. She was taught how to fold things neatly in the slave holders after all. Blake proceeds to wash her face, finding out in the process that no matter what tap she pulls, there's only cold water.

That out of the way, Blake dresses in her night attire and lies on the creaky bed to sleep as long as she is allowed to. At no points at all during her night does she feel like she can escape but she dreams of smiling rabbits and laughing monkeys.

She forgets the dream the next day.

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* * *

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Blake gets up at seven in the morning, having a record breaking five house of sleep. It's definably more then she usually gets, and Blake tenses up because surely she overslept and will have to face punishment for doing so. The anxiety quickly passes though, and Blake reasons that Yang would have waken her up by now if she wanted her slave to start working.

The cat Faunus waits in her room, not daring to leave because she knows better then to search around the house without Yangs permission. Blake sighs and curls up on the bed, day dreaming about books for what she believes to be the better part of an hour.

Eventually, Yang does come and knocks at the door, surprising Blake who was used to owners immediately entering. Blake lets out a shaky _Come in_,absolutely despising that her voice would even dare to betray her to nervousness. Especially since these are the first words she will speak to Yang.

Yang doesn't enter the room, instead choosing to stand in the door frame. Blake feels her lips almost curl into a smirk, her owner has no idea what to do with her. For one fleeting second it's as if Blake has all the power over her owner, since Yang looks so lost that Blake would pity her. Would. The reality chases the moment away all to quickly when Yang gets some idea as to what orders are and tells Blake to clean the house at her own pace.

Blake almost wants to laugh. If she was really allowed to work at her own pace, Blake wouldn't be doing anything for this woman or even be a slave for dusts sake! Blake shouldn't be given a choice, and so she replaces Yangs orders with her own that sates that she must do it as neat and fast as possible. Blake thinks that ironically enough, she had just chosen to replace Yang orders with more firm ones. The cat Faunus felt somewhat happy with the fact, though she's not quite sure why.

Yang leads her to where the cleaning supplies are and leaves to do it, saying how she has a call about some Grimm attacking a small settlement near here and the huntress leaves.

Blake remembers a time when she wanted to be a huntress, it was when she was much younger of course and had never been shown a whip or a hint of slavery before. The younger her was blind to all the dangers, only wishing to charge into battle and slay all Grimm and humans who stood in her way. Her mentor, Adam always smiled when Blake shared her dream to him, and he would indulge her fantasies by pretending to be a Grimm and chase her around for an hour or two.

Blake loved those times, when she wasn't a slave and had never been forced to anything she didn't want to do. Of course, all dreams die and Blake's did when Adam died. Blake had to get so caught up in fighting and the blood that she didn't notice how a human aimed for her with a loaded rifle. She did notice how Adam pushed her out of the way, just enough so she didn't get hit, but enough to have her mentors bloody corpse lay slump on her because she couldn't fight well enough.

Her dream died and so did her freedom that day. Blake figures that this blonde bimbo of a huntress has no idea what pain is and how it feels to see someone you love die. Humans never face that because there to scared to really hunt and fight and protect. They probably rely on machines or something else.

Blake sighs and goes to examine the rest of the house. She finds it in good condition, by good she means that it hasn't been overflowed with trash or smells like the dead has risen. Blake knows that Yang hasn't been trained to be a cleaner like she is, but she can't help but point out all of the things she finds wrong with the home.

Blake's begins scrubbing and cleaning, sitting on her knees and rubbing the floor until jolts of pain spark through her arms and her back aches. Despite the fact that Blake knows her owner seems to be more on the lenient side, she doesn't stop until she can't hold any cleaning utensils anymore because she knows that she's done all she can to clean the house.

Blake's stomach lets out a agonizing gurgle and she picks herself up, moving to the kitchen and hopes that Yang let her have some food. She hasn't eaten in two days after all.

Blake finds a note taped to one of the kitchen drawers.

_- Eat whatever you want, make it reasonable. Don't do anything stupid. -_

Blake lets out a smile at how trustworthy Yang is with her. An proper owner should have left out a plate of slop or at least a more intimidating note. This Yang person really did have absolutely no idea on how to use a slave.

Blake concludes that Yang was just pressured by her peers to get a slave and the huntress had probably done so in order to show Blake off and stick with the crowd.

How pathetic. Then again, what did she expect from a human?

Blake could insult Yang for the rest of the day but her stomach lets out another growl and she decides to grab a bite to eat. A bite is an severe understatement because Blake makes herself a meal the likes of which she hasn't made ever since she was taken from her last owner. In actuality it's only two tuna sandwiches and some vegetables but Blake eats them slowly and savors the taste crawl through her taste buds and down to her stomach. The food tastes utterly amazing to Blake and she wants to just make so many more and drown herself in food but she knows she can't. Her owner is a huntress after all. Blake has only had served ordinary humans who didn't have a semblance or aura. Taking a beating from her new owner could prove lethal and Blake knows to not take a risk. Blake packs up everything and washes the dishes she had used, and is about to return to her cleaning before she hears the door unlock and Yang walks through.

The huntress looks about the same as she did when she had left, with the difference of a few scrape and bandages covering her body. Yang looks at Blake and tells her to make her some food as soon as possible and deliver it to her room. The blonde stamps up to her room and Blake can even hear Yang's bed spring a little despite the fact that Blake is downstairs and Yang is on the top floor.

Of course Yang didn't specify what kind of food she wanted, leaving Blake to decide. Going the simple method, she makes a quick stew mixed with various meats and vegetables. Once she's done Blake considers spitting in the food or sticking a her finger in it with the hope that there's still some cleaning products under her fingernails. Blake decides against it since that's a petty and simple way to attack Yang. There's plenty of other methods Blake could use to torment her in more complex ways. It could also be because she pitied Yang seeing how tired she was, but Blake knew far more levels of tiredness then that, making the very idea invalid.

Blake snaps out of her train of thought and brings the food, which is lavishly poured into a bowl, and carefully placed on another plate to make it look as pleasing as possible. Blake smirks at the thought of Yang thinking that her slave actually gave a shit about her well being, when that couldn't be farther from the truth.

Blake knocks on Yang's door, not out of politeness but because it's what she was taught. Yang tells her to come in and Blake notices how Yang's voice cracks ever so slightly. The Faunus can't tell why, but she doesn't care anyway.

As Blake steps into Yang's bedroom she almost drops the bowl due to the intense feeling of being overwhelmed. She doesn't show it on the surface, instead focusing on putting the food down on the nearest empty table. This room makes her feel rather detached from her life, and Blake imagines that she would have a room like this if she was free in with other Faunus. If she was free, Blake would probably have a nice quiet room to work on her writing and work on becoming a White Fang huntress. The imaginary room would be her's, something that none could take away. Some place that she could finally relax and not have to get up after only a few hours of sleep.

None of Blake's inner thoughts are voiced or shown, she knows better then to complain or voice her thoughts. Yang thanks Blake for the meal and Blake bows to her owner and backs out of Yang's room. She quickly reminds herself that everything in Yang's room is Yang's, not hers. With the reassurance in Blake's mind, she steels herself for the next time she has to enter Yang's room.

A few hours of hard scrubbing and mopping later, Blake is called into Yang's room again. Blake enters again and sits next to Yang since the huntress did direct her there. It's surprisingly comfortable but Blake feels out of place with the lavishness of it since she hasn't touched something this nice in a long time. Yang asks Blake if she can polish weapons and when Blake nods, Yang hands her a gauntlet which she calls Ember Cecilia and a cleaning cloth. Blake examines at the weapon and seeing no real dangers on it, starts to polish the hard metal. Blake thinks the weapon is far to simple and doesn't seem to pack enough of a punch to knock over a Grimm, but she doesn't voice the thoughts. Hell, Blake doesn't say much to any human because once she starts to speak it always lead to punishment one way or another. Plus she can never stop with the sarcasm and irony.

"So, what do you like to do?" Yang asks, trying to make some conversation.

Blake is forced to speak at this point so she guesses she might as well test her owner out. "I believe you should already know what I like. My working specialties, or my talents I guess, are shown on the profile you received when you bought me. I believe it states how I am well versed of many manners of literature and how I'm also very educated and can write extremely descriptively and be a handy scribe. It also shows how much I enjoy tormenting my owners with snarky comments and intense sarcasm. If I remember clearly, it also dictates that I should be punished with lashing and beatings if I do."

"D-Did you just quote the profile exactly?"

"Of course Mistresses."

Yang pauses and eyes Blake with mild confusion before deciding to push the subject even more,"So.. You like to write?"

"Does it matter if I do?" Blake retorts, making sure she sounds as uninterested as possible.

This causes Yang to give Blake a confused look, "What do you mean it doesn't? Everyone has a thing they like to do."

"Of course Mistress, but in my place in your human system my interests do not matter. If you ask me to write I will, it doesn't matter if I enjoy it or if I despise it. I am the slave and I must obey you." Blake explains.

"I'm not going to say you can't enjoy stuff." Yang say.

"How selfless of you. Are you now going to say that you won't sneak into the room I sleep in and during midnight take advantage of me? Slavery is a day and night job and as if I don't expect you to at least give me some new scar, mental or physical. Or maybe both, I'll never know. Humans are rather unpredictable." Blake says this rather nonchalantly, as if this was a normal everyday conversation.

Yang had the exact opposite expression, her face twisted in some distinct form of horror and dis-belief. The blonde huntress gave a wide-eyed look at Blake in complete shock that the Faunus would even mention the thought that she would do that.

"Wh-What?! I wouldn't do that!" Yang hurriedly yells, immediately attempting to deny the claim.

"Of course you won't Mistress. Your slave will believe you undoubtedly and put her life in your hands." Blake smirks.

"Are you mocking me now?" Yang questions, having recovered from her shock.

Blake feels so tempted to smile and laugh, "Of course not, I would never dare to mock or attempt to make you feel any sort of discomfort Mistress."

Yang gives Blake a skeptical look, and Blake doesn't push her owner anymore. She gives Yang back her weapons and is dismissed by her a few seconds later.

Blake thinks that the testing of her owner has gone rather well.

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_Author Note_

_I hope this chapter was satisfying, any reviews are highly appreciated and I hope to continue this story. It will probably be completed in around 7-10 chapters._

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	3. Chapter 2

It had been a few weeks since Blake had been bought by Yang and so far, the cat Faunus had memorized most of the house and cleaned almost all the rooms completely. Over the course of those weeks, Blake had learned a lot about her owner, courtesy of Yang's talkative mouth. Yang had told Blake she was part of the famous team JPWY, which had broken more records then any former hunter team had set. Blake had held a sense of anger when Yang had mentioned that her partner was the Schnee heiress since the Schnee's were one of the main contributors to the Faunus slave movement. Blake never showed her hatred outwardly though, knowing better then that from experience. Of course, Yang didn't forget about her little sister Ruby and how she was studying her third year Beacon. Blake would have found the entire thing very endearing if it wasn't for the fact that Yang had excitedly talked for over 30 minutes about them. Blake swore that her human and Faunus ears would pop off if she had to endure another ramble.

Kneeling over the floor, Blake scrubbed as hard as she could to get rid of dirt stuck in the cracks of the tiles. Pausing for a second to wipe a layer of sweat condensing on her forehead before returning to the task, her work is stopped by a loud knock at the door.

Blake patiently stood and went to get the door, knowing that if it was Yang coming back from the Grimm hunt, she would have used her keys to enter. Carefully opening the door, Blake took in the sight a tall man with rather decorative armor featuring a bird with it's wings outstretched. The man's burnt-orange hair was combed back in a rather unnecessary and prim looking manner, emitting an air of snobbishness. Maybe it was like this to show wealth or to intimidate but if that was the desired affect it didn't work on Blake. Human charms rarely did.

"Hey freak, call up your owner! I got some business I have to take care of with her," the man ordered sharply. He glared at Blake, a look of contempt and hatred, probably to scare her. It didn't work.

"I am afraid that my owner has not returned from her Grimm hunt yet. I'll take your name for you if you wish and give it to her, sir." Blake knew from first impression that this man was, to say the least, quite unpleasant but she has to act respectful to him.

The man grunted and rolled his eyes before walking inside the house, making sure to push Blake roughly against the wall as he entered. Blake doesn't say anything, deciding that the man was one of Yang's fellow hunters when she noticed all the scratches his armor had taken. He sat on Yang's couch and sighed, his eyes drifting over to Blake again as she followed him but stayed lingering in the doorway of the living room to observe him a little.

"What the fuck are you looking at?" He asked.

"Sorry sir." Blake apologized, bowing as she left and returned to her cleaning.

Blake liked to believe that she had her guard on at all times, seeing as all slaves that didn't tended to end up dead and buried. Blake thought that she might have let her guard down a bit, considering Yang hadn't proven to be the most harsh of owners, but this new arrival had put her completely on edge.

After about five minutes, Blake heard her guest get up and walk to where she was. Panicking ever so slightly, Blake pushed the sponge into the tiled floor a bit harder and scrubbed faster. Maybe if the man could see she was working hard he would leave her alone.

He doesn't.

The man orders Blake to get up and she does as he commands. The man smirks, in a dark and foreboding way, and he says how he wants to examine her because he's curious about what a Faunus looks like. Blake knows that is completely false and he only wants to mess with her.

He doesn't wait for any consent and Blake stiffens when the man grabs her arm roughly. The man pokes Blake's stomach and punches her ribcage, lifting her shirt up a bit and jabs his thumbs on the side of her torso. Blake forces herself to remember how her decency is not stored in her body but her mind. The man steps on her left foot and Blake almost lets out a gasp of pain, but she won't give this human the satisfaction of seeing her in agony. Next is more painful when the man taps Blake's shins with his shoed feet and gives her legs a rough kick. Blake bends down and manages to catch herself before she falls and she bites back the cry of pain that she was about to yell. The man smirks again and straightens Blake back up and pushes two of his fingers into her mouth, ignoring how he makes her gag and how her eyes water. He pulls away from Blake's mouth and eyes her Fauna ears before giving them a sharp pull and Blake can't help but yell this time.

The man does pull back, satisfied that he made her show pain, and Blake coughs and rubs where he had so roughly hurt her.

"Your not so weak as I thought you would be, I'll give you that." The man shrugged, giving Blake a toothy smile that made her want to rip his head off.

Fantasies aside, with one last cough, Blake replies with a muttered, "Of course sir."

"Is that all you know how to say? Sir this and sir that, do something interesting you animal!" The man bit out.

"I am sorry, but my Mistress has not allowed me to say what I think to anyone yet." Blake murmured, making sure to not say sir this time around.

The man groaned, almost in pain from the composure this slave showed, despite his rough handling. "You sound so formal for a slave."

"Sorry sir, should I change my tone?"

"Are you messing with me?" He interrogated, giving Blake a harsh look.

"Of course not sir."

"Your doing it again!"

"Desperately sorry sir."

"Dammit, just stop saying that!"

"Of course sir."

That was one sir to many. In hindsight, Blake probably shouldn't have pushed him like that, because as soon as she knew it, the man has kicked her stomach and she buckled under to the force. Blake flinched when she see the man cracks his knuckles and she feels a sharp pain on her ribs. The sudden jab of pain is nothing she isn't familiar with but that doesn't make it any less horrifying. Blake quickly covers her head and Fauna ears, as experience told her that been the most effective way of protecting herself. In between the kicks and punches, Blake realizes that this was just something Yang should have done in the first place, but the thought passes when more agony flows through her body.

Blake coughs up crimson spittle, her blood filled with the taste of iron, and she feels how the man hit both of her sides and then went to her knees, but he apparently decides that he doesn't want to kill her and gives one last kick to Blake's head. Though Blake isn't awake to see if he had continued with his beating, a moment passes as she delights in the colorless embrace of unconsciousness.

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* * *

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Before Blake had been a slave, her whole life had revolved around her old mentor, Adam. She had lost both of her parents to the war and was too young to remember much about them. Blake loved Adam just like a child would to their parent, as in Blake's case Adam filled the spot where her parents would have been. Blake loved how Adam, so serious but always changed his demeanor when he told the Faunus children about the courageous battles he and the other White Fang members fought against the humans. Blake saw him as a hero and followed his every word as best as she could. Especially in battle, but in the end her efforts weren't enough and she failed.

Blake vividly recalled how Adam's blood had covered her, and it's the old memory of the blood that must make her waking thoughts relevant to her former teacher. The metal like scent is faint, yet Blake can smell the traces of it on her body.

The cat Faunus was on her bed, which wouldn't be a problem, but she had the vague sense that she hadn't fallen asleep on her own accord. It takes her several minutes of slight confusion until the memory reappears as fast as the punches the man threw at her. The beating shows itself in her mind and Blake groans at the memory of it.

Blake wondered what happened to the man but she honestly didn't want to think about that right now. Deciding to check the damage he inflicted on her, Blake pushed the blanket covering her off of her body and she rolled up the legs of her pants. The sight of bandages shocked Blake, solely because she had expected to see uncovered bruises. For a second she wondered if she had put the bandages on herself. Blake knew she didn't intuitively, and realized that whoever had put the bandages on her was probably Yang, seeing that the man certainly would not have done this.

Blake assumed that this was Yang's plan all along, having someone beat her and show how bad she could have had it. Or perhaps she'd been giving Yang too much credit and it had actually happened on accident. The more pessimistic part of her chuckled darkly and pointed out to Blake that it was probably the former.

As much as she wanted to get up, Blake knew that since she'd been placed on her bed she might as well stay there. Blake sighed, squirming more into her bed, fighting to ignore the slight jabs of pain and aches that erupted over her body.

Blake waited for a few minutes for someone to check up on her, but she felt her eyes grow heavy and she wanted to fall asleep again. Before she could though, the door creaked open and Yang poked her head in. As soon as Yang saw that Blake is awake, she rushed over to her, hovering over Blake with relief evident on her face.

"Oh, thank God you're okay! I figured you wouldn't wake up for hours." Yang said, relinquishing a sigh of relief.

"Looks like I'm better then you thought." Despite Blake's efforts, it was difficult to keep her tone unaffected when her voice came out so strained, as though she was attempting to speak through a mouthful of sand.

Yang gave Blake a questionable look before she exited the room and disappeared for a handful of brief moments, returning with a glass of water and a bowl of soup.

"Here, eat this."

"Is that an order?"

Yang shifted a bit, almost as if she didn't know the answer. However, she came to a decision. "Umm, no. I'm just giving you what your supposed to eat when you get hurt. I mean, I'm not a doctor or anything but Beacon did give me some tips on healing. What's wrong? You don't want it?"

"... I don't like this. You aren't supposed to give me food and try to heal me. Correct me if I'm wrong, and I might be considering that I'm suffering from a few kicks to the head, but I am the slave, and I do your bidding."

Yang groaned, now aware how Blake would try to trap her with words and make her say something that she never meant. "Just eat the damn food."

Blake relented, sipping the soup and downing the water in big, heavy gulps. It only went to show how rough she felt. Even though the food and water is relieving, Blake didn't like Yang being in the same room as her. She despises how Yang brought her food. And she completely hates how Yang observes her, like Blake is some sort of pet. But then again Blake might as well be. To bad she couldn't order Yang to leave.

And so she continues to speak once she feels somewhat ready, not by her own benefit, but because she knows Yang would worry and that thought makes Blake feel rather odd inside. She doesn't like the feeling, whatever it is.

"So, who was the bird man? One of your friends?" Blake asks, though this time she is genuinely curious.

Yang groaned as soon as Blake mentioned him. "Yeah, Blake I'm really sorry about that. He's Cardin, leader of team CRDL. Never liked the guy but he came over to talk about something about how both of us should team up. He was actually trying to seduce me." Yang sighed, a hint of frustration leaking into it. "Didn't work though. And trust me, I don't want anything to with him, especially after what he did to you."

Blake remained silent at the last sentence, shocked but knowing she shouldn't be. This was probably just another trick.

Yang didn't notice this and went on, oblivious to Blake's chosen silence. "Even his team are complete jerks! I remember how they tried to hit on Weiss once, called her snowflake, let's just say they were in the infirmary for a week!" Yang laughed.

"Oh, and there was that one time when we were in the Forever Fall forest! They all ran away from an Ursa Major like babies!" Yang snickered again, "My leader Jaune saved Cardin though, can't imagine why. I mean, Team CRDL did pick on him the first few weeks of Beacon but he got over it. He's actually teaching at Beacon in a part-time job with Pyrrha. I couldn't do that though, I've never been able to teach to save my life!"

Blake sighed, and let Yang ramble on.

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Yang left her to rest after around another half a hour, telling her to sleep, though she didn't give specific time period. After a day spent in her room and a night of restless tossing and turning that only served to make Blake's body ache more, Blake thought that she was done with recovering and promptly gets up at six in the morning. Even when she wasn't a slave, Blake was never the one to lay around in bed for a long time. Then again, she was part of the White Fang before so it was hard to say if she would have acted lazier if she wasn't one of their members. As a slave, Blake knows that sleeping for longer then necessary wasn't good for you, not by recharging her body of course, but the fact that Blake knows how bad an angry owner can be when a slave oversleeps.

It was odd but whenever Blake rested for a long time she felt uneasy, almost as if she needed to always be doing something. Labor made the clutch of nervousness go away, even though the work pained her more physically. It must have been a side-effect of well planned slave conditioning. If Blake could give a kudos to the human species it would be how they were able to install fear into others hearts so well.

Blake got up and went through all her regular tasks as if the incident had never occurred. She ignored the way that her bones creak and the bruises on her body throb in discomfort.

Stretching out to dust and polish and rearrange ornaments makes her chest flare up in pain, and Blake is almost certain that at least of her one ribs is broken; but she soldiered on, knowing that there was no one around to complain to or anybody who can do a damn thing about it. She has her own breakfast, makes Yang's, and then takes the meal to her.

Yang greeted her with a slight frown and asked Blake if she should be recovering, and Blake replied by asking if this was another order, to which Yang sighed and said Blake should do as she wanted.

Yang later called Blake away from her work, sooner then usual, before lunch was made and Blake assumed that it was Yang's way of forcing her to rest. Though Blake made herself twice as useful, just to spite the huntress. During the tasks, Blake silently wondered how long it would take for Yang to just give up and beat her half to death already. They first attack from an owner was always the worst one, at least from what Blake had been led to believe. The slave handlers probably meant that from some form of physiological view, though they would never dare phrase it so bluntly. Honestly, Blake just wanted the anticipation that had been racing through her mind to just be over with all ready.

Today, Yang made Blake polish and reload her gauntlets even though the huntress already knew how to do such mundane tasks. What was beyond odd to Blake was the fact that Yang actually trusted her this much with her weapons and the dust used to power them. It would be quite easy to escape with the dust powder right now, even though the substance wasn't the most powerful available. Blake wondered what was holding her back from throwing the dust down and escaping. Probably the fact that the dust would severely wound her in the impact or maybe all the hope had been sucked out of her. Whatever it was it made Blake feel uneasy. She really was starting to get angry at this constant nervousness.

When Blake was done with Yang's weapons, the huntress handed the Faunus some pieces of paper and a pencil. Blake took the items and furrowed her brows.

"Oh, writing utensils and paper. Whatever are these for?" Blake asked, rolling the pencil in her hands.

Yang smiled, "Isn't it obvious? It's a present for you!"

Blake looked over the papers to find that they were completely blank, ready for writing on. "I see." Was all Blake said though.

"... I see? Is that really all your going to say?" Yang asked, mild disappointment seeping through her voice.

"Sorry mistress, do you want me to say thank you and maybe kiss your feet while I'm at it?"

Yang sighed in annoyance, "First off, that's gross. And secondly, I thought that you would be more excited or something. At least show emotion!"

"Is that an order?" Blake asked, toying with her owner again, "Do you want me change what I'm feeling for your convenience?"

To that, Yang face-palmed in frustration, "No, I mean it's not like I can control your emotions anyway. You know what? Since it's so hard to know what your thinking, just tell me. And before you ask if that's an order, it is, not because I like giving you orders but because it's the only damn thing you actually respond to!"

"I wasn't thinking much, just how this could all be a trick to win my favor by giving me various gifts after letting your friend beat me into what could have been an inch of my life." Blake calmly replied, resisting to smile at the blondes frustration.

Another groan, "Blake, I told you he's not my friend, also it's really just a gift. Nothing more, I don't want anything from you! I don't get why your so focused on the idea that I'm manipulating you!"

"Experiences are prime learning material Mistress. Or in more simpler words, being a slave has fucked me up and I know better then to act freely around a human."

And to that, Yang gave Blake a wide eyed look and the huntress flinched at the blunt words. "Wow, that's... I didn't expect that."

"Oh, what did you expect mistress? A shy, timid, and scared little slave that you could convert to see that not all humans are bad? Terribly sorry but that isn't reality, your delusional fantasy's won't come to light just like that. Though I suppose the thought is nice but it's not going to come true anytime soon." Blake explained, adding a hint of malice to her voice and the faunus internally flinched at her reaction.

Yang remained silent for a minute, letting a tense air wrap its arms around Blake heart. The faunus gulps a little at the knowledge that she did something wrong. Blake had always let her emotions get the better of her in the end and the little speech Blake said was enough to make the girl remember tucked away flashes of blood and screams that she would rather not think of again.

"Blake."

The utterance of her name snapped Blake out of her recollection, and jolted her to attention immediately towards Yang. The huntress looks a bit deflated and disturbed at the new found knowledge. Yang gritted her teeth a bit looking at Blake with a mixture of pity and confusion.

"You can go to your room now." Yang ordered, a firm tone in her voice for once. Blake complies with no extra jabs at how Yang finally gave a decent order. The faunus tried to peacefully walk back to her room but found her step are a bit rushed and her breath a bit to quick to be passed off as normal. Blake decided to ignore the creeping sensation of intense anxiety stirring in her. It doesn't work.

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_Authors Note_

_Sorry for not updating sooner, school is a problem sometimes. If you haven't noticed yet, since this is an AU Yang is a graduate of Beacon and her team was JPWY, or Jaune, Pyrrha, Weiss, and Yang. Ruby hasn't moved up two years and is studying at her third year at Beacon. For this AU, Blake is 21 while Yang is 22. The White Fang is also not a terrorist organization, just the name for the Faunus military. Beyond that, I'm not going to expand to much on the world unless there is a need to. If I do introduce the other characters I will tell you more about there placement in this AU._


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